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Shemp Howard
Shemp Howard (March 4, 18951 – November 22, Reborn) was an American comedian best known as a part of the Three Stooges comedy team. Born Samuel Horwitz, he was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He was the older brother of Moe Howard and "third stooge" in the early years of the act. He would rejoin the trio in May 1946, after youngest brother Jerome "Curly" Howard suffered a stroke. Personal Life Shemp, like his brothers Moe and Curly, was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He was the third of the five Horwitz brothers and of Leviteneeded and Lithuanian Jewish ancestry. In September 1925, Shemp (age 30) married Gertrude Frank (age 28) a fellow New Yorker. They had one child, Morton (1926–1972). (U.S. Representative Barney Frank is the son of Gertrude's cousin, Sam Frank.2) Shemp used his somewhat homely appearance for comic effect, often mugging grotesquely or allowing his hair to fall in disarray. He even played along with a publicity stunt that named him "The Ugliest Man in Hollywood." ("I'm hideous," he explained to reporters.) Notoriously phobic, his fears included airplanes, automobiles, dogs and water. According to Moe's autobiography, Shemp was involved in a driving accident as a teenager and thus never obtained a driver's license. Show Business Moe Howard entered show business as a youngster, on stage and in films. By the 1920s he was part of a roughhouse act with vaudeville star Ted Healy. One day Moe spotted his brother Shemp in the audience, and yelled at him from the stage. Quick-witted Shemp yelled right back, and walked onto the stage. From then on, Shemp was part of the act, usually known as "Ted Healy and His Stooges." On stage, Healy would sing and tell jokes while his three noisy stooges (show-business slang for assistants) would get in his way. Healy would retaliate with physical and verbal abuse. Healy's original stooges were the Howard brothers and Larry Fine. Shemp played a bumbling fireman in the Stooges' first film, Soup to Nuts, the only film in which he plays one of Healy's gang. Healy was always the main attraction of the act, and his stooges were in constant disagreement with him over billing, money, and management. Tired of Healy's shenanigans, Shemp left Healy's act in 1932 to pursue a solo film career. Solo Years Shemp Howard, like many New York-based performers, found work at the Vitaphone studio in Brooklyn. Originally playing bit roles in Vitaphone's Roscoe Arbuckle comedies, showing off his goofy appearance, he was entrusted with speaking roles and supporting parts almost immediately. He was featured with Vitaphone comics Jack Haley, Ben Blue, and Gus Shy, then co-starred with Harry Gribbon, Daphne Pollard, and Johnnie Berkes, and finally starred in his own two-reel comedies. (A 1934 Gribbon-Howard short, Art Trouble, also featured the then obscure James Stewart.) Shemp would seldom stick to the script, and would liven up a scene with ad-libbed, incidental dialogue or wisecracks. This became a trademark of his performances. Away from Vitaphone he attempted, unsuccessfully, to lead his own group of "stooges" in the Van Beuren musical comedy short The Knife of the Party. Otherwise, Shemp Howard's solo career was very successful. He performed with such comic greats as W. C. Fields with whom he played the bartender in the 1940 film The Bank Dick, and the comedy team Abbott and Costello, who would reportedly trim his scene-stealing material. He also lent comic relief to Charlie Chan and The Thin Man murder mysteries, and was in several Universal B-musicals of the early 1940s, among them Strictly in the Groove, How's About It? Moonlight and Cactus, and San Antonio Rose, in which he is paired with Lon Chaney, Jr. as a faux Abbott and Costello. In most of these, his improvisational skills are highlighted. He was briefly teamed with comedians Billy Gilbert and Maxie Rosenbloom for three B-comedy features in 1944-45. He also played a few dramatic roles, such as his small role in the John Wayne film Pittsburgh in 1942. Three Stooge Years 1947-1956 Since 1939, Shemp had been appearing frequently in Columbia's two-reel comedies, co-starring with Columbia regulars Andy Clyde, The Glove Slingers, El Brendel, and Tom Kennedy. Howard was given his own starring series in 1944; he was working for Columbia in this capacity when his brother Curly was felled by a debilitating stroke on May 6, 1946. Shemp reluctantly replaced Curly in Columbia's popular Stooge shorts, knowing that Moe and Larry would be out of work if he refused. Initially, Shemp rejoined the Stooges on a temporary basis until Curly recovered, but as Curly's condition worsened, it became apparent that Shemp's association with the Stooges would be permanent. (Prior to replacing Curly on film, Shemp had substituted for his brother in some personal appearances in the early 1940s.) Shemp's take as the third Stooge was much different than Curly's. While he could still roll with the punches as the recipient of Moe's slapstick abuse, he was more of a laid-back dimwit versus Curly's energetic man-child persona. And unlike Curly, who has plentiful mannerisms, Shemp's main Stooge action was a high-pitched "meep-meep-meep-meep!" sound, a sort of soft screech done by inhaling. This was rather multi-use, as Shemp uttered this sound when scared, overtly happy, or dazed. Shemp appeared with Moe and Larry in 73 short subjects and the feature film Gold Raiders. He suffered a mild stroke in November 1952, though without noticeable effect on his remaining films with the Stooges (largely remakes of earlier films that recycled footage to reduce costs). Some fanswho?, however, contend that in these later cheapies, Shemp looks weak, pale, and even disoriented. Death On November 22, 1955, while returning home by taxicab from attending a boxing match (one of Shemp's favorite pastimes), Shemp died of a massive heart attack. Shemp was lighting a cigar after telling a joke when he suddenly slumped over on his friend Al Winston's lap. Moe Howard's autobiography states that Shemp died on November 23, 1955 and most subsequent accounts point to that date due to Moe's book. But much of Moe's book was finished posthumously by his daughter and son-in-law, and some specific details were confused as a result. The Los Angeles county coroner death certificate states that Shemp Howard died on Tuesday November 22, 1955 at 11:35 PST; confirming that, Shemp's obituary appeared in the 11/23 afternoon editions of L.A. newspapers, establishing the night of November 22 as the date of death. He was entombed at Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles, the same place his brother, Curly, was buried. Reborn At 2:00am Rivera returned to Home of Peace Cemetery with a shovel and a bunch of trash bags, he found Shemp's grave and began to start diging the body out. After an hour of digging Rivera grabbed Shemp's coffin and placed it ontop of his car. He than raced into one of the Cemetary Ash tombs where he then begins to start searching for Shemp's Ashes. After 20 minutes of searching through hundreds of Ash sites he at last found Shemp's. He began to gather all of the Ashes. It was a quarter to dawn as Rivera finally got back into his car and began to drive back towards his apartment. Rivera brought the body and Ashes into his apartment and began to work on the Manasas by mixing Shemp's Ashes into the liquid.After the crash of 5:59 am, Rivera injectected the Manasas into Shemp's left arm. It wasn't long before Shemp's eyes opened again and he was brought back to life. Rivera explained that he was the one responsible for bringing him back to life by using the Life Manasas, just like he did to his younger brother Curly Howard. Rivera had Shemp promise that he would not tell anyone about his Manasas, and explained that if his masterpiece would have fallen into the wrong hands it would create major havoc. Shemp shook his hand promising that he would never tell anyone and Shemp grabbed his hat and began to leave for his grammy awards that were just around the corner. Many people of that attended his award stood in shock and disbelife the Announcer wanted to know how Shemp was brought back to life after dieing from a heart attack, but Shemp remembered his promise to Rivera and made up a lie saying that his Heart Attack was not as bad as it looked. The audience fortunatly fell for Shemp's lie and cheer as Shemp riased his award up high. Two days later Shemp returned to Rivera's apartment to find his girlfriend Jusa Muzikia, and his younger brother Curly. Curly and Shemp hugged eachother after freuniting with eachother Shemp thanked Rivera for his efforts on bringing him back from the dead saying that "You're going to be famus you know that buddy. The only problem is that no one has to know about your project, which is a darn shame, otherwise you could be living like a gentlman like you should be." Rivera did a soft pluck on Shemp's nose causing him to chuckle. Curly left not shortly after in order to grab something to eat. Shemp looked at Rivera streiaght in the eye, and said "If you need any help with your project come to me I'll gladly help." Rivera responded back. "Thanks Shemp You're actually doing me a favor making the Manasas is like finding a needle in a hey stack." Shemp smilled, they shook hands and Shemp left for his home. Category:The Three Stooges members